Joan Pau Raba: the bad guy in the movie

A fearsome but discreet villain; ruthless but refined. This is how Joan Pau Raba describes his sinister character in “Coyote”, a series about the border between the United States and Mexico which, according to the Colombian actor told Efe, exemplifies that “the most dangerous criminals” are those who do not leave I’ll see.

Raba is an expert in revealing the dark side of the world thanks to roles such as Gustavo Gaviria in “Narcos” (2015-2017).

He now faces Michael Chiklis (“The Shield”, 2002-2008) on “Coyote,” a series that landed last week on the CBS All Access platform with Michelle MacLaren, who produced “Breaking Bad.” 2008-2013), in the engine room.

“Coyote” focuses on Ben (Chiklis), a veteran U.S. Border Patrol agent who is embroiled in a deadly plot to help a woman in danger in Mexico.

Raba gives life to a criminal named Juan Diego who will be Ben’s great enemy even though, according to the Latin, they soon both discover that “they are not so different from each other.”

Q: Juan Diego is a bloodthirsty criminal, but also sophisticated, intelligent, methodical.

A: I am attracted to the idea that we really deviate from a stereotype: this villain who is in front of everyone and for everyone, this villain who behaves as such throughout his life with his wife, with his children, towards their enemies. ..

My perception of Juan Diego is that he is more of a businessman. Your business is not necessarily legal, no doubt. But he’s not the person who’s going to go straight and hit you with a shot.

He has organized his life very well so that this is not seen. It strikes me that the most dangerous criminals in this world are like that. And we see them on television, at rallies, splendid with their families …

Then, if one finds out a little, or when there is a scandal (…), what is below is rotten. This catches Juan Diego’s attention: how do you make a guy who you really know is dangerous but doesn’t act as such.

Q: Latinos criticize the U.S. for often giving them roles as drug traffickers, prostitutes, and so on. Are you worried that he will be categorized as such a criminal character?

A: I reject many (smiles). Rejection of those that are poorly written.

I have no problem playing bad guys because there are bad guys in the world. It’s not that it’s a fantasy we’re inventing. There are drug cartels in the world, there are people who traffic in human beings …

My job as an artist is not to judge my character. That doesn’t mean you agree with him, of course you don’t.

But to be able to tell a story it is important that we can also tell these characters, that we can show them in all their facets (…). To the extent that we all put our grain of sand and make real characters, ultimately what we end up favoring is in the story.

Q: What was it like to be measured in an almost western duel against an actor like Michael Chiklis?

A: Chiklis is a force of nature. In addition to putting his body, his soul, and two or three years of his life into this project, it’s all one expects or would like a star to be.

He is a dedicated, serious, talented, hardworking, kind, affectionate guy. And he’s also a strong guy when he has to be.

What I like most about him is that at no point does he take this figure as the colonizer: “I’m the Hollywood gringo who comes here to teach you how to do this.”

Not even close. He arrives open-handed and mindful to learn. He wants to learn Spanish, he wants to eat what he eats in Mexico, he wants to share time with them. He is truly an artist and is willing to soak in everything he sees permanently.

Q: The Border is one more “Coyote” character and has also been a focal point of American politics in recent years. How does this series avoid clichés about the border that President Donald Trump and Republicans have thrown?

A: First of all, at no point is “Coyote” intended to be a political series. We are telling a story that of course there are people who are going to take it to the political plane, more so at the moment we are living.

Why do I find it important? I feel that sometimes television, film and books have a magnifying glass effect: they get great themes, great paradigms of society, great dogmas, to be told through a single person.

When we focus on something as big and as complex as the problem of immigration, of the border, of the cages, in one or two characters it’s a little easier to understand. Because it’s easier to put on those shoes. That’s why I think it’s so important to explain it, so there’s a ‘backlash’, people who don’t agree, who criticize it …

It is a problem that has been happening for a long time and that is clearly not going to end with this new Administration. This is an ongoing problem, something that is really going to take a long time, a lot of understanding and agreements for you to get to a human place.